SOG Ch 121

Woo-jin had a strange expression on his face. That particular moment was vividly etched in his mind as well. He wanted to make excuses, but he couldn’t bring himself to hold onto Jae-chan, nor could he ignore Jae-chan’s seemingly indifferent attitude.

It wasn’t indifferent at all.

Feeling an oddly lump in his throat for consolation, Woo-jin hurriedly uttered the excuse he couldn’t make at that time.

“It was fine when I was doing it, but when you reciprocated…I got a bit too excited.”

The look he received indicated the explanation was insufficient. Woo-jin cleared his throat and averted his gaze slightly. After contemplating, he blurted out honestly.

“I was afraid if I didn’t push you away, we might end up having car sex right there.”

“…”

“…”

“…Is that not allowed?”

Jae-chan, who had been silent, asked. Woo-jin opened his lips slightly and answered without raising his gaze.

“Yeah. I don’t want others to see you like that.”

His eyebrows were slightly furrowed as he answered that question. His cheeks had been flushed for a while now.

In fact, Jae-chan was in the same situation. Feeling awkward and embarrassed, his heart racing rapidly, and yet well mixed emotions swirled between the two of them like a whirlwind.

“…And I’ve been holding back on physical contact with you ever since.”

In the midst of catching his breath, Woo-jin continued in a deliberately calm voice. When Jae-chan softly asked why, Woo-jin answered right away as he had intended to explain the reason anyway.

“Because when I touch you, I can’t think of anything else. But I wanted to think. Why can’t I think of anything when I touch you? Why do I keep wanting to interfere with you?”

And why am I unsatisfied with our current relationship? Woo-jin murmured softly as he quietly reflected on his recent self.

“In fact, it was like that from the very beginning. Not as friends or paired Esper, but when I volunteered to help you instead of Han Tae-hoon. Looking back now…”

“…”

“… I guess I’ve liked you since then.”

Woo-jin said with a slightly disappointed expression because he realized his feelings too late.

Maybe it was even before that.

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where these feelings began.

“It seems I was lost, unaware of it…I’m sorry for making you worry unnecessarily because of me.”

Woo-jin carefully chose his words. He should have confessed honestly sooner. He wanted to say he liked him again but held back.

He didn’t want to burden Jae-chan when he didn’t even know how Jae-chan felt.

“Anything else?”

Instead, I asked more about him. Jae-chan, who was somehow heartbroken and the tip of his nose was sore at the words Woo-jin poured out, was shocked.

“…There’s nothing else.”

“There must be something else.”

It couldn’t have been just because Woo-jin avoided him once that made Jae-chan think that way. Woo-jin did not want to leave any gaps.

In the end, Seon Jae-chan ended up asking questions like why he didn’t tell me about his dispatch to Zone Z earlier, why he refused to let him come along, why he received guiding from his junior even though Jae-chan was nearby, and so on without omission.

“That’s it. It’s really the end. There’s nothing else.”

After listening to all of Woo-jin’s earnest responses, Jae-chan, whose face had become more flushed than when he was confessed to, raised both hands in surrender. He felt completely stripped bare like he had been threshed to the very bottom.

He hurriedly pressed the call bell. He intended to resume their meal quickly.

“Let’s eat, let’s eat.”

“…Okay.”

Woo-jin exhaled lightly through his pursed lips and wordlessly pushed the water glass and the wine glass side by side toward Jae-chan.

Jae-chan took a sip from each. As the slightly sweet taste of the alcohol went down his throat smoothly, he gulped it down rapidly but managed to put the glass down, thinking he absolutely should not get drunk here.

His mind was still reeling. Did he really like him? Why? It didn’t make sense. His thoughts, which had been tangled in such absurdities, were now shifting to other considerations.

‘What do I do. It really seems like he likes me…’

It really didn’t make sense. How could Woo-jin like someone like him?

Not believing this reality, he even pinched his flesh hard with his nails, but it only hurt without waking him from a dream. This was real. He had been confessed to by Woo-jin, his long-cherished, unrequited love.

‘Then what should I do now?’

…How does one accept a confession? Never having accepted anyone’s confession before, Jae-chan, with a flushed face, quickly recalled the most recent scene of someone accepting a confession that he had witnessed.

It was the moment when Gyeong Chang-hyun suddenly received a confession via messenger from his ex-girlfriend, with whom he has now broken up. [I like you, you jerkㅠㅠ] Chang-hyun, who looked confused for a moment after receiving the confession text containing profanity, laughed, then uncharacteristically minding his spelling, sent this reply:

[Okay Yoon, we’re dating from today]

Insane.

Having completed the brief recollection, Jae-chan hurriedly dismissed the thought. Surely there were better ways to accept a confession than that crass response.

‘No way.’

Get a grip. Why was he only thinking in terms of ‘accepting the confession’? Snap out of it. Jae-chan shook off the unsavory thoughts and aggressively just moved his metal spoon.

The fresh sashimi that highlighted the ingredients’ original flavors was followed by the main course of grilled lamb ribs, which were served one after another, and the two emptied their plates at a slow pace, following each other’s instructions. By the time they finished the pumpkin sherbets and fruit jellies for dessert, it was nearing 9 PM.

“Do you want to go see the night view?”

When the two awkwardly hesitantly left the restaurant, Woo-jin made a suggestion. It was a question born out of a desire to stay close to Seon Jae-chan no matter what. Likewise, Jae-chan, who did not want to be separated from Go Woo-jin, quickly nodded, and Woo-jin’s eyes softened slightly.

The two felt like they were suffocating as their chests continued to swell and their hearts beat rapidly, but the excitement outweighed the discomfort and they went out together into the night. Woo-jin had also had a drink due to Jae-chan’s recommendation, so he left the car in the parking lot and took a taxi.

The destination they arrived at by driving along a sparse two-lane road was the unlit Mountain Owol Observatory. As a well-known night view spot, the lights of countless buildings, the Seorae River Railroad Bridge, and the famous bridge of Universal Park sparkled brilliantly.

Woo-jin bought coffee at the 24-hour unmanned cafe on the first floor of the observatory. When Jae-chan showed curiosity upon receiving the warm takeout cup, Woo-jin smiled with pure joy for the first time in a long time and showed the inside of the cup. The strong scent of coffee spread through the warm white steam.

“Do you like Americano too?”

Jae-chan asked with a returning smile. Considering that both of them seemed to have already drunk enough to keep their hearts pounding due to excessive caffeine intake, and they had already lost sleep, so they chose coffee. The fact that Woo-jin had the same idea made his heart flutter again.

Under the light of the street lamp, Jae-chan’s round cheeks and the tips of his smiling eyelashes sparkled. Woo-jin nodded, enduring the thirst that suddenly burned his throat.

For a moment, they let the silence flow. The twinkling lights in the distance signaled the city was alive, and as a subway train passed over the Seorae River Bridge, Woo-jin spoke. He chose to have a casual conversation to hide the nervousness that was freezing his fingertips.

“…Why did you go to your aunt’s house?”

In fact, he was most curious about Han Tae-hoon but held back that question.

Meanwhile, Jae-chan recalled the events from last night to this afternoon in response to Woo-jin’s question.

After numerous failed attempts to contact her, he realized his aunt’s house was empty when he visited. He almost reported it to the police right away, but then remembered two things – that his aunt was fine during this time before the regression, and that she originally had a wandering spirit. With those in mind, he barely stopped himself. Instead, he went to the economic research department where his aunt works, arriving twice as early as usual this morning.

‘Is Ms. Gu Ji-eun here?’

The associate researcher, who was a colleague of his aunt, clearly looked troubled. He blinked his eyes for a moment and then answered.

‘As far as I know, she took annual leave.  Quite a long one.’

‘Annual leave? Did she go on a trip?’

‘… Did you say you were Ms. Ji-eun’s nephew?’

‘Yes. I’ll show you the family relationship certificate again.’

‘No, no.’

Jae-chan, paused as he was about to unfold the printed family relation certificate and point to the name ‘Gu Ji-young’ – his mother’s name.

He noticed the associate research member’s expression of great reluctance. Jae-chan noticed that his eyes were focused on ‘Father, Seon Min-yeol’ on the family relationship certificate and realized why the other person was reacting this way.

It was because Seon Eun-soo was becoming famous these days. In addition to Jeong Yeon-oh’s group case, Seon Eun-soo was also embroiled in a lawsuit, and news of abuse of power by talented individuals and sexual crimes became hot topics.

It was natural that Seon Jae-chan’s name was also mentioned in the midst of cyber wrecks with titles such as ‘Union hero Seon Min-yeol, guilty of raising his children incorrectly’. It was as Kim Geun-won had feared.

The senior research officer, who arrived just in time for work, saved Jae-chan, who was deep in thought about how to deal with this situation.

‘We cannot disclose the reason or destination for an employee’s leave of absence. Is there a special reason you’re looking for Researcher Gu Ji-eun?’

She asked, taking the place of the team member.

‘I wonder how my aunt is doing and if she is safe.  since she hasn’t been responding to my contacts.’

‘Ah, I see.’

The senior researcher responded with a look that said, ‘Yes, that’s an understandable concern.’

‘Actually, Researcher Gu Ji-eun is carrying out her duties as an Esper. I can’t tell you in more detail due to circumstances, but I can assure you that she’s doing well.’

Only then could Jae-chan feel a little relieved.

However, there were still some suspicions remaining. What kind of mission was it that she couldn’t be contacted for nearly a week, and was expected to remain out of contact going forward? It was unlikely that his aunt, a non-combat Esper, would be assigned to a long-term tracking and assassination mission like Woo-jin.